


Alternate Ending

by rubyisms



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Mercy Killing, On Hiatus, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Qrow is Winter's summon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 20:58:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10647933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubyisms/pseuds/rubyisms
Summary: It was a mercy killing. He asked her to make his painful and slow death quick and painless. She complied.So why in the world was Qrow currently standing in front of her as her own summon?When Winter kills Qrow out of mercy in a Mistral forest, her actions have long-lasting actions neither of them foresaw. Now, forced to be a summon for the Specialist and forced to see the man she killed out of pity, Qrow and Winter must learn how to adjust from this tragedy in order to move on.But it that was easier said than done.





	Alternate Ending

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise, surprise. My first multi-chapter fic since the days I abandoned Addicted and Snow Drifts.
> 
> Long story short: I really like the Mercy kill AU, and I've always wanted to see it with Qrow and Winter in a platonic light as well as James and Qrow having to cope with the fact this is their life now.
> 
> trigger warnings for: death.

In his final moments, Qrow’s mind is all over the place. At first, they default to how happy he is he’ll no longer bring misfortune to the people he cares about. But then he thinks about the people he’d leave behind. He thinks about his family, of the girls and their father. Part of him wants to push on through this to come back home to his nieces and brother-in-law. He was the only teammate Taiyang had left and he couldn’t just leave him like this.

But already, he can feel the dark and cold embrace of death. 

Qrow never wanted to die on the battlefield thinking of all of his life regrets. Regrets of not bringing Raven home to Taiyang, regrets that he never got to see Ruby and Yang graduate and become huntresses, regrets that he never tried to marry James… Most of all, he regrets what he’s about to ask Winter.

The specialist has been at his side for the past few minutes, her hands pressed against the wound in his chest to slow the bleeding. Her voice and words are fuzzy to him, and he can barely make out everything she says. 

“Qrow, hold on. Help is almost here.” That he catches in the haze brought on by blood loss and he grins, tasting copper and feeling blood trickle out his mouth and down his lips. “Qrow Branwen, don’t you  _ dare _ die on me-”   
  
“Dying is easy, living is harder.” Qrow suddenly says, echoing the words Ozpin said to him all those years ago, after Summer’s failed mission where she never came home. The one where he failed to protect her and watched her die. Their voice rings in his head still, and all he can think right now in that moment are those words they said.

“What?” Her voice is soft and her eyes go wide. In this moment, Qrow doesn’t think her blue gaze is icy anymore. No, there’s something else behind it. Something he knows well from Taiyang and James when they would look at him.

But as he thinks, it’s much more familiar as the look Taiyang would always give him whenever they made a mess in the kitchen cooking breakfast. The soft, familial love that Taiyang would hold in his gaze as they laughed and cleaned up.

“Winter, I’m not going to make it-” He doesn’t finish his thought. She doesn’t let him.

“You are  _ not  _ dying here, Qrow! Not as long as my name is Winter Schnee and I can do everything I can to stop the bleeding.” Winter growls and the soft look in her eyes flares up and he smiles. She really was Willow’s daughter. “I made a promise to the people we care about that we’d come back safe and in one piece. I refuse to break it.”

Winter always kept her promises. That thought makes Qrow laugh, and he feels his own hand coming up to rest over the one on his chest.

“Promise me something then.” And when Winter looks up again, he can see tears forming and threatening to fall.

“Anything.”

“Promise me you’ll make it quick and painless.”

The look of resignation she gives him breaks his heart, but she can tell now that he is serious in his words. Qrow knew he wasn’t going to live long enough to make it to the village. Even if help arrived in time, he’d still die on the way back to get medical help. Hell, he was impressed he survived this long with Winter’s hands on his wound.

The specialist inhales deeply and Qrow can see her gloves and jacket are stained red with blood. His, hers, perhaps a grimm or two. Then her gloved hands move to smother his face and he can see her glance away as she lets out a few silent sobs.

As her hands press firmly down against his mouth and nose, cutting off his air supply, his hand comes up and leaves red streaks on her face as he struggles to wipe just a couple of those tears away. Black spots his vision and his body begins to spasm against hers in an attempt to keep breathing. Thoughts and regrets aren’t swarming his mind anymore as he finally allows himself to fall into death’s embrace. He’s already dead by the time his final thought passes through his mind.

_ Take care of yourself kid. _

* * *

He was from Mistral, Winter knew that much. Qrow had always joked around if he had ever died on a mission with her, he wanted her to return his body back to the sky. At first, she was curious why he specifically wanted the sky, but after seeing his shifting a few times for herself, it made sense.

Winter doesn’t scatter his ashes herself. She doesn’t deserve that honor. Instead, she lets nature take it’s course and allows the wind to blow his ashes away without her assistance. 

There’s a lump in her throat that’s hard to swallow, a tightening feeling in her chest that makes it hard to breathe and she allows herself a quick moment to grieve. They never saw eye-to-eye on most issues, but she held respect for the man who her superior thought highly of. She was even with James when he got the ring.

The thought leaves her feeling sick.

Winter presses on, quickly trying to push the negative emotions down. Qrow just died at the hands of the creatures against humanity they were trained to take down. The entire pack was bound to be nearby somewhere, and she wasn’t ready to take on another grimm so soon after losing a trusted friend.

Could she even call him that now?

The walk back to the village is long and emotionally draining. All Winter wants to do is shower and get the blood off her. She wants to curl up in a nice warm bed with a cup of tea nearby and try to save her grief for when the village was safe and sound. She couldn’t let her grief consume her and bring danger to them.

No one asks questions when she arrives back. Until the inn, anyway.

“So where’s the huntsmen you went out with?” One of the soldiers James had spared for their mission asks her and Winter’s face hardens. If he notices, he doesn’t comment on it.

“There was… a fair amount of Grimm,” Winter’s voice is steady and steely as she speaks, “I’m afraid we both underestimated how much there was and.. It came at a devastating defeat to us both.”

The soldier understands and doesn’t question her further. No one else does, leaving her to sit there for a moment. When she’s down the last of her drink, the burn making her grimace and the smell reminding her all too much of Qrow, she goes upstairs.

First thing she does is strip out of her bloody clothes, getting them prepared to wash, then prepares herself a bath to wash herself. The washer could run as long as the bath and she would just have to dry her clothes again before bed. It was simple. Simple as pressing her hands down firmly and-

_ Stop that. _ Winter scolds herself mentally. Now was not the time nor place to reflect on what had happened. It was over, it was done, and she had a job to do. After she was done here, she could properly grieve.

But regardless of her scolding herself thinking of Qrow’s death when there was work to be done, it’s still hits her hard when she’s in the bath. How was she going to tell his family? How was she going to tell the general? She promised them all they’d be back safe and sound, and she broke that promise. The thought of breaking her promise to her father figure leaves her covering her mouth to muffle her sobs.

After the bath, she fixes a cup of tea, redressing in her newly cleaned clothes. Not a spot of blood anywhere. It was as if Qrow had never died in her arms. It was as if she never suffocated him. But even if the blood had been scrubbed clean from her hands, she could never forget that bloody smile he gave her before her hands pressed down on his mouth to smother him.

Winter had too much blood on her hands for a woman who was barely thirty.

Sleep never comes that night. She doesn’t get the luxury as grimm threaten the village walls and she’s moving fast with the few soldiers brought with her to defend the borders. She takes the west side alone, and she’s ready for the Ursa, preparing her summons.

She’s not ready for the white figure, glowing blue at the edges, that takes the shape of the man she had watched die not even an hour before. No, it was impossible. But as he opens his mouth and speaks to her, her heart drops into her stomach and she doesn’t hear what he says.

It was a mercy killing. He asked her to make his painful and slow death quick and painless. She complied.

So why in the world was Qrow currently standing in front of her as her own summon?

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love!
> 
> Also I promise the chapters from here on out will be longer. First chapters have always usually been shorter when I write them.


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